Heavy Rain Seeps Into Sioux Falls Basements

People who aren't scooping-out from the winter storm are instead, drying-out.

The heavy rain in Sioux Falls worked its way indoors, leaving behind many wet basements.

Intek has fielded nearly 20 calls from both homes and businesses that flooded overnight. Intek says the wet basements are a good reminder to check and see if your sump pumps are working following their winter hibernation.

A water-gobbling vacuum is more valuable than a shovel when the winter storm brings far more rain than snow.

"They're panicked, they're not used to it. I had one lady call and said we just bought the house, we're new here, we don't know what to do," David Feist of Intek said.

But Intek crews do know what to do. They've been fanning-out across Sioux Falls scrubbing carpets soaked by seepage.

"One of the worst jobs that the technicians had told me about was last night, their water was coming through the window well and they said it was just like a river flowing down the middle of the basement," Feist said.

In many neighborhoods, the snow and ice outside steered much of the runoff inside.

"It's causing puddling along foundations where there might be some stairwells that go down from outside, water will run down those," Feist said.

Usually at this time of year, Intek workers are dealing with cold weather-related problems like frozen pipes, not rainwater seeping into the basement.

"So it's been kind of a fluke, but we're handling it," Feist said.

Ice in the eaves has been another contributing factor to flooded basements. The water pours directly off the roof and collects along the foundation and eventually makes its way into the house.